involucrum

noun

in·vo·lu·crum ˌin-və-ˈlü-krəm

plural involucra ˌin-və-ˈlü-krə

: a surrounding envelope or sheath

Examples of involucrum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Its jaws and teeth were similar to those of early whales, but the best evidence was the presence of a thickened knob of bone in its middle ear, called an involucrum. —

Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 7 May 2010

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'involucrum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin involūcrum, going back to Latin, "wrapper, cover, envelope," from involū-, variant stem of involvere "to move by rolling, roll back on itself, enclose in a covering, wrap up" + -crum, variant of -culum, instrumental suffix (going back to Indo-European *-tlom) before a preceding l — more at involve

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of involucrum was in 1657

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